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Paganism
Overview Long before Lysterism spread across the Nümerian peninsula, the various tribes and kingdoms worshipped a multitude of powerful entities who inhabited the lands. Granting blessings and gifts upon those who worshipped them, their cults quickly spread over the lands. This rapidly came crashing down with the advent of Lysterism. Beliefs The Known Realms * Zema, the Realm of Men Proto-nümerians had the long held belief that the land this lived upon, Zema, was one of many and far across the seas lied other lands. * Vyrsraj, the Lands of the gods Far across the waters lays the realm of the Gods, Vyrsraj. Upon one’s death, the families of the deceased would set his body afloat in runed ships, hoping it one day reaches the divine shores, so his soul may reach the Gods and eternally feast with them. * Hel, the Abyssal Depths Deep, deep down, beneath the very ocean itself, lays Hel, where the souls of the unluckies, who’s bodies sunk during the great voyage, dwell in eternal misery. It is a cold, dark, murky realm, covered with bones and sunken ships. * Nihl, the Frozen Wastes Beyond the many realms, at the edge of the nigh endless sea stands Nihl, an infinite frozen barren wasteland, inhabited that demons of pure ice that devour the unfortunate lost souls. If not for the protection of the Gods, it’s frozen winds would completely devour the known realms, as it does for half of the year, whilst the Gods are resting. * Lost Ones, When a corpse isn’t properly cared for, the deceased’s soul is trapped within the body and will never reach Vyrsraj. Whilst most simply suffer for eternity, those who died in a particularly brutal way, have an uncommonly strong will or are animated with a lust for revenge will often break the boundaries of nature and manifest themselves. Whilst ghosts and spectres are more common, it isn’t uncommon to the restless dead to walk. Gods * Damara, the Horned Goddess, Deep within the deepest darkest woods of the Numerian peninsula dwells Damara and her thousand young. Once worshipped across the land as a goddess of fertility, her and her young were forced to retreat into the wilderness. Now only worshipped by the wild witchmen of the woods and a few covens, she has stopped blessing the men and beasts of Numeria. * The Cloven Ones, Once devoted followers of the goddess, they were gifted the milk of Damara. Their physiology now permanently altered, they are commonly referred to as satyrs. * The Black Goat, The Herald and champion Damara, the Black Goat is a huge and twisted satyr. He is oft the one summoned in the rituals and sabbaths of the Horned Goddess. * Cruach, the Grave Keeper, The Raven Lord of death and burials, Cruach watches over the improperly buried dead. A greedy god, Cruach refuses to watch the soul of improperly buried dead if he does not receive proper gifts and worship from the families of the deceased. The recent rise of the undead is attributed to the dwindling worship of Cruach. Patron deity to the necromancers, he is said to teach them the dark Arts in exchange for human sacrifices. * The Raven Court, A domain rather than a realm, the Raven Court is another plain of existence where the souls watched upon by Cruach dwell. Described as a large castle in an endless graveyard in an eternal state of unnatural dusk, souls are said to party in dark debaucheries as long as the Raven Lord is compensated for by their families. * Ogm-athoth, the Lore Keeper, The prime deity of knowledge, Ogm-athoth is said to have created the first language and alphabet. He is the patron deity of alchemists. * Martyr, the Gate Keeper, The first man to have stood up to the gods, Martyr was blessed, or cursed for others, with immortality and the duty of guarding the gates of Vyrsraj. Worshipped by many as the god of bravery and justice, his main worshippers are warriors and heroes. Interestingly enough, Martyr still has a place in Lysterian worship as Saint Martyr, the man who stood up to the false gods. * Choar, the Glutton, The god of hunger, feasting and flesh, he is depicted as monstrous carnivorous boar. His worshippers usually consist of cannibals. * The Swine, Individuals born with a ravenous hunger are naturally drawn upon Choar. Encouraged to fall into the debauchery of gluttony, it isn't long before their start feasting upon the flesh of their kin. With each feast bringing them closer to their god, they will reach the point where they are no longer human, a swine. * Yurjh, the Banished, The god of misery and servitude, he was banished long ago to the depths of Hel. His singular hate for mortals far outshines that of even the cruelest of gods. His banishment has yet to stop his dark deeds however; his minions and slaves sinking ships and raiding coasts to add more mortals to further expand his Abyssal Hegemony. * Tritons, Vile fish-men hybrids, they are the taskmasters of the Abyss. The few that have seen them have akinned them to all kinds of oceanic animals, from octopus to barnacle. * Sirens, Repulsive parodies of valkyries, they lure sailors and baithers to sea with their melodious signing before dragging them to the depths of the ocean. * Drowned Dead, Dragged into the abyss, their twisted rotten corpses, covered in barnacles and seaweed are bound to eternal misery and servitude. They are said to raid ships and coasts under the cover of mist with the sole goal of dragging more unfortunate sods into their misery. * Botaan, Hailed as the Evergrowth, Botaan was the god of plant-life and harvests. The main followers were simply known as Harvest-Witches and were the ones who blessed harvests. Slain in the second era by a Lysterian Sect known as the Mortalis, his blood and corpse corrupted the lands, blighting the lands and twisting the animals. Although worship of his previous form can still be found in some pagan communities, his death has given birth to a sect of dark druids who are dedicated to spreading the corruption. * There are countless other gods but they remain generally obscure or simply have never made a presence in Numeria. Practices * The Great Voyage When a person dies, the families of the deceased would lay the body in a ship. Before setting the deceased afloat, the boat was covered in protection runes and blessed by the local shaman. An improperly shielded vessel was at risk of sinking, dooming the deceased to an eternity of suffering in Hel. For those that had not access to the sea, the boat was released onto a river. For those with no access to running water, the boat was buried during a small ceremony, calling Valkyries to bring the soul of the deceased to Vyrsraj. This custom is still practiced to this day in the form of coffins. * Lunar Festival The gods of ancient Numër oft required offerings for their services and as such, worshippers from all lands gathered upon a full moon to worship and offer. It was a great animated festival where each would wear a mask of their patron deity. The offerings ranged from gold, to pelts, to flesh and animal sacrifices, each god had their own preferred gift, though Blood Moons usually required human sacrifices to please the gods. With the advent of Lysterism, this once great festival is now but a few measly offerings from the more traditional country folk.